Duncan made Pop look better then he is as a coach.

[coastalmarker99]

He has struggled massively without Duncan.



The Spurs have fallen into mediocrity and now he is doing the same thing with the USA team.



It's clear that the Spurs should take him out to the backyard and force him to retire as the game has passed him by.

[coastalmarker99]

If I was Duncan I would be very bitter about Pop as his decision to take him out at the end of game 6 In the 2013 finals cost him another finals MVP and ring plus a perfect 6 and 0 finals record.



Duncan with that resume would be at the very least a top 5 player of all time and would have permanently ended the debate between him and Kobe for forever.

[FKAri]

Duncan didn't look so good without Pop in 04.

[coastalmarker99]

Duncan didn't look so good without Pop in 04.

That's true but coach brown is a WOAT coach

[FKAri]

That's true but coach brown is a WOAT coach

Nah. He's a good coach too. Sometimes we concoct alternative scenarios that could've worked out rather than facing the obvious: Sometimes our beloved basketball players play like shit.

[nayte]

Lemme just go check reddit so I can see what reply to use.

[coastalmarker99]

Lemme just go check reddit so I can see what reply to use.

Nice.

[HBK_Kliq_2]

Duncan hasn't done anything without Pop either, so you can say the same thing about him.

2016 spurs were the greatest regular season team of all time when Duncan was a corpse. 2017 spurs would of won the title if Durant\Zaza didn't put a hit out on Kawhi.

Jordan\Duncan\Kobe all relied on 1 coach, so i guess you can knock them for that. While Kawhi\Lebron have won finals MVP with multiple different coaches.

[Spurs m8]

Duncan hasn't done anything without Pop either, so you can say the same thing about him.

2016 spurs were the greatest regular season team of all time when Duncan was a corpse. 2017 spurs would of won the title if Durant\Zaza didn't put a hit out on Kawhi.

Jordan\Duncan\Kobe all relied on 1 coach, so i guess you can knock them for that. While Kawhi\Lebron have won finals MVP with multiple different coaches.

No they wouldn't have won the title in 2017...

They had ONE good half against a warriors who just had a bad start...you could see the spurs were overacheiving....i know..I watched them tonnes thst season and actually watched the game you're referring to ..

You clearly didn't watch the Spurs in 2017....so just give it up already....you don't know shit prior to 2020

You just talk talk talk shit

I knew you'd be here, running your stupid mouth to prop up a selfish kwitting little b1tch

Suck him off all you want...but at least do it truthfully

[coastalmarker99]

No they wouldn't have won the title in 2017...

They had ONE good half against a warriors who just had a bad start...you could see the spurs were overacheiving....i know..I watched them tonnes thst season and actually watched the game you're referring to ..

You clearly didn't watch the Spurs in 2017....so just give it up already....you don't know shit prior to 2020

You just talk talk talk shit

I knew you'd be here, running your stupid mouth to prop up a selfish kwitting little b1tch

Suck him off all you want...but at least do it truthfully


Bravo sir :applause:

[Spurs m8]

Bravo sir :applause:

Thanks mate.

I don't even wanna be mean to the guy...but seriously, the amount of dumb shit he speaks, about something he knows nothing about, just grinds my gears haha

Just blindly props up his hero, whilst disrespecting others and being straight up wrong.

[Spurs m8]

BTW...I totally agree with Duncan propping up Pop...100%

Pop is a bit over the hill and less suited to the modern game...he did a great job in his era...but Tim played a HUGE part in his success....no doubt about it.

[3ba11]

BTW...I totally agree with Duncan propping up Pop...100%

Pop is a bit over the hill and less suited to the modern game...he did a great job in his era...but Tim played a HUGE part in his success....no doubt about it.


Duncan is HOF regardless of coach, while Pop isn't HOF (or anything) without Duncan

People don't realize that there's some phenomenal D2 or NAIA coaches out there that never get their Duncan to make them famous

[Spurs m8]

Duncan is HOF regardless of coach, while Pop isn't HOF (or anything) without Duncan

People don't realize that there's some phenomenal D2 or NAIA coaches out there that never get their Duncan to make them famous

Yeah I pretty much agree with this.

Next we'll have hbk_klit telling us Pop wouldn't be HOF without Kawhitter lmao

[coastalmarker99]

BTW...I totally agree with Duncan propping up Pop...100%

Pop is a bit over the hill and less suited to the modern game...he did a great job in his era...but Tim played a HUGE part in his success....no doubt about it.

Duncan was going to win multiple titles in his career regardless of where he goes. Even if he got drafted by a garbage team like the Clippers he would have left them once his rookie deal was up.


You have to remember back then guys weren't restricted FA's when their rookie deals ended.


Duncan also wasn't sold on the Spurs even after winning a title and finals MVP in 99 when he resigned with them in '00 hence why he put an opt-out clause in his contract that allowed him to become an FA in '03.

[miggyme1]

Ahhhhh here we go again. Basketball is a TEAM game,in a team game the parts have to fit. Team USA is NOT a team. Dame is not a traditional pg,he is going to struggle in international play because when it comes to setting others up and defending those are his weaknesses. This USA team is very flawed. As far as Pop is concerned u guys arent giving him enough credit……the best player on his spurs is derozan (isnt even a top 20 player anymore) and he almost got them to the playoffs. Phil jackson never won a ****ing thing without jordan/shaq/kobe….arguably top 50 players of ALL TIME…hell top 20 ALL TIME. Sit down and shut the **** up.

[Spurs m8]

We've been told

[rmt]

Ahhhhh here we go again. Basketball is a TEAM game,in a team game the parts have to fit. Team USA is NOT a team. Dame is not a traditional pg,he is going to struggle in international play because when it comes to setting others up and defending those are his weaknesses. This USA team is very flawed. As far as Pop is concerned u guys arent giving him enough credit……the best player on his spurs is derozan (isnt even a top 20 player anymore) and he almost got them to the playoffs. Phil jackson never won a ****ing thing without jordan/shaq/kobe….arguably top 50 players of ALL TIME…hell top 20 ALL TIME. Sit down and shut the **** up.

Par for the course with the current NBA - but tell that to KD, Harden and Kyrie if they were healthy.

Jordan/Shaq/Kobe - Top 10 of all time.

[tpols]

The Spurs are being led by demar derozan and 0 all stars in a conference where UMVP Curry, Dray, and Wiggins miss the playoffs and AD and Lebron barely make it. This is just a weak take. Spurs were still in the conference Finals after Duncan retired.

As far as team USA goes its hard to reign in the AAU mentality of today's checkers. They don't play as a team and are divas about it. Does HOF coach Larry Brown suck too because of 2004? Silly.

[tpols]

Ahhhhh here we go again. Basketball is a TEAM game,in a team game the parts have to fit. Team USA is NOT a team. Dame is not a traditional pg,he is going to struggle in international play because when it comes to setting others up and defending those are his weaknesses. This USA team is very flawed. As far as Pop is concerned u guys arent giving him enough credit……the best player on his spurs is derozan (isnt even a top 20 player anymore) and he almost got them to the playoffs. Phil jackson never won a ****ing thing without jordan/shaq/kobe….arguably top 50 players of ALL TIME…hell top 20 ALL TIME. Sit down and shut the **** up.



Bingo. I even forgot the spurs made the play ins. :oldlol: what a joke... That's a GOAT coaching carry job.

[coastalmarker99]

Duncan hasn't done anything without Pop either, so you can say the same thing about him.

2016 spurs were the greatest regular season team of all time when Duncan was a corpse. 2017 spurs would of won the title if Durant\Zaza didn't put a hit out on Kawhi.

Jordan\Duncan\Kobe all relied on 1 coach, so i guess you can knock them for that. While Kawhi\Lebron have won finals MVP with multiple different coaches.



Duncan has a legitimate case to be top-5 player of all time and his insane resume speaks for itself.

• 5x Champion. 2x MVP. 3x FMVP. 15x All-Star. ROY.
• Only player in NBA history to make 15 All-Defensive Selections.
• Has the 3rd highest Defensive Rating in NBA History (the first 2 guys played in the 60’s).
• Duncan and Kareem are the only players with 25,000 points, 15,000 rebounds and 3,000 blocks in their careers.
• Only player in NBA history to have at least 100 offensive & 100 defensive win shares for their career.
• Only player in history to be named to an All-NBA Team and All-Defensive Team 15 times.
• 3rd most Playoff Wins in NBA History (Lebron, D. Fisher)
• #5 All-Time in blocked shots.
• #1 All-Time in blocked shots in the playoffs.
• #5 All-Time in Double-Doubles.
• #6 All-Time in Rebounds.
• Only player in NBA history with a Quadruple-Double in the playoffs (and he did it in a series-clinching Game 6 of the NBA Finals)
• 2nd player in NBA history to win an NBA title in three different decades (John Salley).
• Only player in NBA history to average 13.0 points and 9.0 rebounds for an entire season at age 38 or older.
• Only player in NBA History to beat 18 different teams in the NBA playoffs. No other player has done it.
• Only player in NBA History with 1,000 or more wins with one team.
• Never missed the playoffs his entire career.
• Never won less than 50 games his entire career (!!)
• Led the Spurs to a .600 Winning % in each of his 19 seasons, an all-time record for most consecutive seasons with .600 Winning % in ANY of the 4 Major US Sports.


If this guy had played in a big market, he’d be considered a GOD with this resume.

[rawimpact]

It's the old Tom Brady or Bill Bilichick argument. Only this time, the coach continued on to prove he cant get the W without the player.

[ImKobe]

It's the old Tom Brady or Bill Bilichick argument. Only this time, the coach continued on to prove he cant get the W without the player.

To be fair to Pop he took some mediocre teams to the POs after Duncan and his team was up 20+ against the unstoppable 2017 Warriors squad before Kawhi's season-ending injury in the WCF that year.

Pop and the 3 other HOFers extended Duncan's career and got him another championship. Pop basically invented load management and started resting Duncan in his late 20s, which allowed him to still be an effective player in his late 30s in deep Playoff runs.

[Proctor]

No they wouldn't have won the title in 2017...

They had ONE good half against a warriors who just had a bad start...you could see the spurs were overacheiving....i know..I watched them tonnes thst season and actually watched the game you're referring to ..
I agree Pop is an overrated clown, but we'll never know how the series would have actually turned out. Overachieving is such a lame downplay of what happened. Spurs grossly out-executed the Warriors that game and were dismantling them on the Warriors home floor. And on top of that, Spurs proved to be one of the few teams who could take it to that Warriors team. No way to know the trajectory of that series if the Spurs win the first game by dozens like they were going to. It was shades of 2014 ball.

Not gonna crown them the hypothetical champion by any means...but let's not downplay what factually happened.

[3ba11]

American big men only learn threes, while foreign big men are the only real bigs that do more than threes (Jokic, Embiid, Giannis)

It's funny though because one must assume that the American bigs from prior eras (Hakeem, Robinson, Shaq) would destroy the foreign bigs of today's game.. it seems like a completely different level of play

[RogueBorg]

He has struggled massively without Duncan.



The Spurs have fallen into mediocrity and now he is doing the same thing with the USA team.



It's clear that the Spurs should take him out to the backyard and force him to retire as the game has passed him by.

It's that way with all coaches. Look how amazing Luke Walton looked filling in for Kerr to start the 2015-16 season and how mediocre Steve Kerr looks with all the injuries the Warriors have had.

Pop is the idiot that thought having 15x All-Defense Tim Duncan should be on the bench when Ray Allen hit THE shot in game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals.

[WhiteKyrie]

Shame he couldn’t do that for Larry Brown :oldlol: … Duncan is great. Obviously. But also overrated. Neck and neck with KG. No difference. In fact, KG actually has the slight edge as a player tbh. Better more versatile defender

[lakerstekkenn]

He has struggled massively without Duncan.



The Spurs have fallen into mediocrity and now he is doing the same thing with the USA team.



It's clear that the Spurs should take him out to the backyard and force him to retire as the game has passed him by.

It's not Pop obviously the players aren't making the right choices on the defensive and offensive end, this will change with film study even great teams with multiple super star players don't win games nor championships against pore teams they should beat, even with James just watch the Miami Heats first years run and their loss to the Mavericks and Spurs sometimes even super teams make simple defensive mistakes and offensive mistakes that will cost them series and Olympic Gold Medal's players get overconfident and play lackluster until they are embarrassed and sometimes opponents just play better team Basketball and team defense because Basketball is a team game and these super teams usually get embarrassed anyway especially when the world catches up to us with talent and Basketball knowledge, we don't look superior unless these guys are fatigued from their playoff runs and playing every day is bothering them they aren't recovering from their fatigue plus minor injuries from playing all year are factors especially Durant with his previous serious injury, that injury could be weakening his legs causing his jumper to fail.

[FKAri]

It's that way with all coaches. Look how amazing Luke Walton looked filling in for Kerr to start the 2015-16 season and how mediocre Steve Kerr looks with all the injuries the Warriors have had.

Pop is the idiot that thought having 15x All-Defense Tim Duncan should be on the bench when Ray Allen hit THE shot in game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals.

Sacrificing rebounding for an extra perimeter defender in a 1 possession down by 3 situation makes perfect sense. Could he have tried something different? Sure. But anyone thinking that was a dumb call is dumb themselves. Classic Monday morning quarterbacking.

[Charlie Sheen]

Players and coaches benefit working with generational talent.

There's an old saying... rising tide raises all boats.

[k0kakw0rld]

Shut your b*tch ass up

[coastalmarker99]

Shut your b*tch ass up

Why don't you go **** yourself you bandwagon.

[RogueBorg]

Sacrificing rebounding for an extra perimeter defender in a 1 possession down by 3 situation makes perfect sense. Could he have tried something different? Sure. But anyone thinking that was a dumb call is dumb themselves. Classic Monday morning quarterbacking.

It's not Monday Morning Quarterbacking. When it happened and you saw Duncan was not in the game didn't you ask yourself why? I did. Alot of people did. If you didn't at least question it then I'm not the dumb one here my friend. There's no way I have Boris Diaw in the game over Duncan....no way. Boris Diaw was not a great perimeter defender.

[FKAri]

It's not Monday Morning Quarterbacking. When it happened and you saw Duncan was not in the game didn't you ask yourself why? I did. Alot of people did. If you didn't at least question it then I'm not the dumb one here my friend. There's no way I have Boris Diaw in the game over Duncan....no way. Boris Diaw was not a great perimeter defender.

Diaw slid down to the 5 as the only "big" in the game. If you watch the replay Lebron went behind a pick to take his 3 for which Diaw hedged. TD would've done the same. Bosh rolled to the basket and ended up getting the rebound. No difference with TD in his place. Now that's in terms of how it actually played it out which doesn't matter because we should be questioning the decision. Was the decision to keep TD out the right one? Maybe. Maybe, not. But it could go either way since it's perfectly logical for TD to be out for the reasons I mentioned earlier. My argument is not that questioning this decision is dumb. My argument is that blaming this decision is dumb.

[Orange_Cassidy]

the spurs system that won them championships just doesn't work anymore in an era where it's a 3 point shoot out with no big man


pop was a genius... key word... was



it wasn't Duncan... Duncan would be obsolete in today's nba

[theman93]

Sacrificing rebounding for an extra perimeter defender in a 1 possession down by 3 situation makes perfect sense. Could he have tried something different? Sure. But anyone thinking that was a dumb call is dumb themselves. Classic Monday morning quarterbacking.

No it's not.

San Antonio was up 2 when Kawhi got fouled. Kawhi missed the first free throw, then Pop subbed Diaw for Duncan, then Kawhi hit the second free throw to extend the lead to 3.

So it was a 1 possession down by 2 situation not a 1 possession down by 3 situation when Pop benched Duncan. It was incredibly stupid to take your All-NBA defender out in that situation.

[Spurs m8]

I agree Pop is an overrated clown, but we'll never know how the series would have actually turned out. Overachieving is such a lame downplay of what happened. Spurs grossly out-executed the Warriors that game and were dismantling them on the Warriors home floor. And on top of that, Spurs proved to be one of the few teams who could take it to that Warriors team. No way to know the trajectory of that series if the Spurs win the first game by dozens like they were going to. It was shades of 2014 ball.

Not gonna crown them the hypothetical champion by any means...but let's not downplay what factually happened.

I just remember watching us do EVERYTHING more right than normal and Warriors were basically one run away from coming back...and they just weren't playing well..for a half...
People forget it was basically one half (and a bit) of basketball, out of a 7 game series.

They weren't gonna play that bad the whole time, they had way too much fire power and were just too damn good.

[RogueBorg]

But it could go either way since it's perfectly logical for TD to be out for the reasons I mentioned earlier.

No it's not, you don't replace a 15x All-NBA Defensive defender for Boris Diaw in that situation. I get what you're trying to say but you're acting like the only choice is to have either a perimeter defender or the rebounder in the game...you have to think about both, you have to think if they miss the shot YOU HAVE TO GET THE REBOUND. And as another poster stated, when Popp removed Duncan for Diaw they were up 2, not 3, making that decision even dumber. Maybe you're a Spurs fan and you're just defending Popp, but if you really think it was better to have 6'-8" Boris Diaw in the game instead of the future Hall of Famer Duncan who you've been riding for 15+ years, then you're just plain stupid.

[Horatio33]

Duncan didn't look so good without Pop in 04.

Pop was an assistant coach on that team

[warriorfan]

No they wouldn't have won the title in 2017...

They had ONE good half against a warriors who just had a bad start...you could see the spurs were overacheiving....i know..I watched them tonnes thst season and actually watched the game you're referring to ..

You clearly didn't watch the Spurs in 2017....so just give it up already....you don't know shit prior to 2020

You just talk talk talk shit

I knew you'd be here, running your stupid mouth to prop up a selfish kwitting little b1tch

Suck him off all you want...but at least do it truthfully

Damn.

[Horatio33]

the spurs system that won them championships just doesn't work anymore in an era where it's a 3 point shoot out with no big man


pop was a genius... key word... was



it wasn't Duncan... Duncan would be obsolete in today's nba

You do know Duncan only retired 5 years ago, and even though he was on his last legs, he was still one of the top defenders in the league.

He would be fine now in this era, if he was dropped in at his prime. Deandre Ayton is doing very well in the playoffs, and he's a shadow of the player Duncan was.

[theman93]

Giannis and Ayton can have resounding success in this era but Duncan couldn’t? Yeah ok...

This whole “x player couldn’t play in today’s era” card is way overplayed, especially when talking about all-time greats.

[rmt]

In crunch time, you don't get cute and play percentages (defending the 3 point line) - with all due respect to Boris Diaw, you play your best players - in this case, your best player, Duncan, who in 2013 was All NBA 1st team and All Defensive 2nd team - you don't have him on the bench at the most crucial part of the game. This is Pop being an AS**OLE - with the attitude - look, I can bench Tim Duncan in crunch time. Any other coach would have gotten fired for that stunt.

[Axe]

Why don't you go **** yourself you bandwagon.
Lol

[Orange_Cassidy]

You do know Duncan only retired 5 years ago, and even though he was on his last legs, he was still one of the top defenders in the league.

He would be fine now in this era, if he was dropped in at his prime. Deandre Ayton is doing very well in the playoffs, and he's a shadow of the player Duncan was.

a tim Duncan wouldn't even make an nba team today. ibaka would get a job before tim cause he can hit threes.. only way a guy can get a job in the nba without being able to shoot from deep is if he's a playmaker and is extremely versatile. that or he's super athletic. tim is none of these things. a slow lumbering big man with no three point shot? he can't even play PF.. hes strictly a center. no chance


and this is not meant to insult tim. I'm insulting the era and league the nba has become and I fully expect the US to not even medal this Olympics

[theman93]

a tim Duncan wouldn't even make an nba team today. ibaka would get a job before tim cause he can hit threes.. only way a guy can get a job in the nba without being able to shoot from deep is if he's a playmaker and is extremely versatile. that or he's super athletic. tim is none of these things. a slow lumbering big man with no three point shot? he can't even play PF.. hes strictly a center. no chance


and this is not meant to insult tim. I'm insulting the era and league the nba has become and I fully expect the US to not even medal this Olympics

Ayton and Gobert cannot shoot from deep and are not playmakers or versatile and they both have jobs on upper echelon teams. This is a terrible take.

[RogueBorg]

a tim Duncan wouldn't even make an nba team today. ibaka would get a job before tim cause he can hit threes.. only way a guy can get a job in the nba without being able to shoot from deep is if he's a playmaker and is extremely versatile. that or he's super athletic. tim is none of these things. a slow lumbering big man with no three point shot? he can't even play PF.. hes strictly a center. no chance


and this is not meant to insult tim. I'm insulting the era and league the nba has become and I fully expect the US to not even medal this Olympics

https://static.toiimg.com/thumb/msid-74644556,width-1200,height-900,resizemode-4/.jpg

[FKAri]

No it's not.

San Antonio was up 2 when Kawhi got fouled. Kawhi missed the first free throw, then Pop subbed Diaw for Duncan, then Kawhi hit the second free throw to extend the lead to 3.

So it was a 1 possession down by 2 situation not a 1 possession down by 3 situation when Pop benched Duncan. It was incredibly stupid to take your All-NBA defender out in that situation.

No it's not, you don't replace a 15x All-NBA Defensive defender for Boris Diaw in that situation. I get what you're trying to say but you're acting like the only choice is to have either a perimeter defender or the rebounder in the game...you have to think about both, you have to think if they miss the shot YOU HAVE TO GET THE REBOUND. And as another poster stated, when Popp removed Duncan for Diaw they were up 2, not 3, making that decision even dumber. Maybe you're a Spurs fan and you're just defending Popp, but if you really think it was better to have 6'-8" Boris Diaw in the game instead of the future Hall of Famer Duncan who you've been riding for 15+ years, then you're just plain stupid.

I'm not really defending Pop or even blaming anyone else. I'm merely pointing out two things. One, that whenever things go South fans default to blaming the refs or the coach like clockwork. Sometimes they do make blunders but in this case it was a judgement call that is not only hard to be conclusive about objectively, it doesn't even "feel" like an obvious blunder imho.

Second, even if that scenario could've been re-run a million times and it turned out to be mathematically the right play(which I'm not even saying it was) fans will still feel unsatisfied. It's because the star player not getting an opportunity to impact the play always hurts fans emotionally. Justified or not.

This is a play where fan opinion will always be skewed against Pop.
and ya btw, Kawhi shoulda hit his fcking FTs.


In crunch time, you don't get cute and play percentages (defending the 3 point line)
Getting cute and playing percentages is the coach's job to be fair.

[Orange_Cassidy]

Ayton and Gobert cannot shoot from deep and are not playmakers or versatile and they both have jobs on upper echelon teams. This is a terrible take.


theres a big difference between ayton/gobert and tim in terms of athletic ability/length/reach

https://arizonasports.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/GettyImages-1128386887.jpg

http://dsz7vodgjx60a.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/25134242/bil-gobert.jpg


https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/O-ao63mAV2TJqPGRKRniKfWUbzVA5MTPfUGQk0oTBYnzZp9AQjgd x1ESGa4uNdGn5Y241J1No3JyUSbgrKMfQpamQA6XqYbN8tkGo1 5FuRXWpjixiiHS

:roll:





sh*t even a young duncan looked like he had the athleticism of shawn bradley

https://i.makeagif.com/media/5-05-2018/Y0fs_7.gif

[RogueBorg]

I'm not really defending Pop or even blaming anyone else. I'm merely pointing out two things. One, that whenever things go South fans default to blaming the refs or the coach like clockwork. Sometimes they do make blunders but in this case it was a judgement call that is not only hard to be conclusive about objectively, it doesn't even "feel" like an obvious blunder imho.

Second, even if that scenario could've been re-run a million times and it turned out to be mathematically the right play(which I'm not even saying it was) fans will still feel unsatisfied. It's because the star player not getting an opportunity to impact the play always hurts fans emotionally. Justified or not.

This is a play where fan opinion will always be skewed against Pop.
and ya btw, Kawhi shoulda hit his fcking FTs.


Getting cute and playing percentages is the coach's job to be fair.

Pop has no control over whether Kawhi hits his free throws or not. But he absolutely controls whether he has a 15x All-Defensive player/5x NBA Champions/2x MVP/3x FMVP in the game or some scrub. Do you know how many times Diaw has been an All-Star or All-NBA defender? ZERO

I can't believe we're even debating this. It's not Monday Morning Quarterbacking, it's common sense.

[theman93]

I'm not really defending Pop or even blaming anyone else. I'm merely pointing out two things. One, that whenever things go South fans default to blaming the refs or the coach like clockwork. Sometimes they do make blunders but in this case it was a judgement call that is not only hard to be conclusive about objectively, it doesn't even "feel" like an obvious blunder imho.

Second, even if that scenario could've been re-run a million times and it turned out to be mathematically the right play(which I'm not even saying it was) fans will still feel unsatisfied. It's because the star player not getting an opportunity to impact the play always hurts fans emotionally. Justified or not.

This is a play where fan opinion will always be skewed against Pop.
and ya btw, Kawhi shoulda hit his fcking FTs.


Getting cute and playing percentages is the coach's job to be fair.

First of all, you were defending Pop by saying it wasn't a dumb call. But in actuality, subbing out your All-NBA Defender in a 2 point game (not a 3 point game - you didn't even remember what happened btw) for one of the worst defenders on your team in Boris Diaw is objectively dumb.

Secondly, I'm not even a Spurs fan so your points about fans not being able to see his coaching decision objectively because of emotion is moot.

Thirdly, Kawhi was a second year player who had never been on that big of a stage in his career and was shooting 63% from the line in those playoffs. Expecting him to make that free throw was silly especially after he choked the first free throw, but Pop got lucky he did. If his job is to play the percentages he did a terrible job of it there.

[rmt]

a tim Duncan wouldn't even make an nba team today. ibaka would get a job before tim cause he can hit threes.. only way a guy can get a job in the nba without being able to shoot from deep is if he's a playmaker and is extremely versatile. that or he's super athletic. tim is none of these things. a slow lumbering big man with no three point shot? he can't even play PF.. hes strictly a center. no chance


and this is not meant to insult tim. I'm insulting the era and league the nba has become and I fully expect the US to not even medal this Olympics

Do you think Ibaka was practicing/taking 3s early in his career until the GSW and these 3s came to dominate the current NBA? Not versatile? They don't call him the Big Fundamental for nothing. Suddenly the three point shot has obscured all other basketball skills. The slow lumbering big man that you know was not always that way - it's called AGE. Funny, part of the versatility of TD has always been being able to play both C and PF (and the salary/player flexibility that gave the Spurs). I'm sure that if Duncan practiced the 3 at the rate the other big men are today, he too would hit them. Here's an example of a playoff pressure 3 (without the 3 pt practice of today):


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-Q7i1gz9ks

[FKAri]

First of all, you were defending Pop by saying it wasn't a dumb call. But in actuality, subbing out your All-NBA Defender in a 2 point game (not a 3 point game - you didn't even remember what happened btw) for one of the worst defenders on your team in Boris Diaw is objectively dumb.

Secondly, I'm not even a Spurs fan so your points about fans not being able to see his coaching decision objectively because of emotion is moot.

Thirdly, Kawhi was a second year player who had never been on that big of a stage in his career and was shooting 63% from the line in those playoffs. Expecting him to make that free throw was silly especially after he choked the first free throw, but Pop got lucky he did. If his job is to play the percentages he did a terrible job of it there.

I guess I am defending it. I'm defending it as "not a blunder". I'm not defending it as "the right call". And Diaw was absolutely not one of their worst defenders. Lazy as hell in the regular season but in the playoffs he was one of their best. He was locking up Lebron at times. I'd much rather have him as the man hedging than 34 year old Duncan. He's just flat out the better guy to have covering space. So the judgement call was to prioritize making it tough for the Heat to get a shot(s) off over securing rebounds. That's not a blunder. It could go either way. It didn't go the Spurs way. Them's the breaks.

Most coaches will never make bold calls that could win them games because they know they're on the hook. They will always play it safe. Pop didn't do it because of ego. He did it because he knows his job is relatively safe and he can focus on actually winning games whereas 80% of coaches are more focused on not getting fired.

[theman93]

I guess I am defending it. I'm defending it as "not a blunder". I'm not defending it as "the right call". And Diaw was absolutely not one of their worst defenders. Lazy as hell in the regular season but in the playoffs he was one of their best. He was locking up Lebron at times. I'd much rather have him as the man hedging than 34 year old Duncan. He's just flat out the better guy to have covering space. So the judgement call was to prioritize making it tough for the Heat to get a shot(s) off over securing rebounds. That's not a blunder. It could go either way. It didn't go the Spurs way. Them's the breaks.

Most coaches will never make bold calls that could win them games because they know they're on the hook. They will always play it safe. Pop didn't do it because of ego. He did it because he knows his job is relatively safe and he can focus on actually winning games whereas 80% of coaches are more focused on not getting fired.

Uhh no. Among those getting rotational minutes Diaw was absolutely not one of their best defenders in the playoffs, and especially not one of their best defenders in the Finals.

2013 Playoffs:

https://i.ibb.co/RBHN33s/diawplayoffs.png

2013 Finals:

https://i.ibb.co/BKdzYsT/diawfinals.png

And honestly I'm not even debating the rebounding aspect. I'm arguing it was stupid to insert Diaw for All-NBA Defender Duncan in a one possession 2 point game knowing Kawhi was terrible at the line in those playoffs.

But let's pretend Pop did know it was going to be a 3 point game. Even in that case I'm still going Duncan over Diaw even though he was slower footed because he's taller and had greater length to make up for it. Duncan clearly was also more savvy, was still an All-NBA defender at that stage, and obvious the better rebounder. Notice who Miami attacked on the pick and roll on that last play? Diaw.

[FKAri]

Uhh no. Among those getting rotational minutes Diaw was absolutely not one of their best defenders in the playoffs, and especially not one of their best defenders in the Finals.

2013 Playoffs:

https://i.ibb.co/RBHN33s/diawplayoffs.png

2013 Finals:

https://i.ibb.co/BKdzYsT/diawfinals.png

And honestly I'm not even debating the rebounding aspect. I'm arguing it was stupid to insert Diaw for All-NBA Defender Duncan in a one possession 2 point game knowing Kawhi was terrible at the line in those playoffs.

But let's pretend Pop did know it was going to be a 3 point game. Even in that case I'm still going Duncan over Diaw even though he was slower footed because he's taller and had greater length to make up for it. Duncan clearly was also more savvy, was still an All-NBA defender at that stage, and obvious the better rebounder. Notice who Miami attacked on the pick and roll on that last play? Diaw.

Diaw was their best "big" defender on PnRs that series. I just don't have as strong an opinion on the matter as some of yall do so agree to disagree at this point.